Corporate Giving Rises, Especially for Disaster Relief, Study Shows

Median corporate giving increased 15 percent in the past three years, according to a new study, with big boosts going to disaster relief in particular. The top 25 percent of companies gave just under 2 percent of pretax income.

The findings come from “Giving in Numbers,” a report by the CECP, a coalition of corporate leaders who push for companies to spend money on social causes, and the Conference Board, a business membership organization.

Giving among the 252 companies that participated in the survey of 2017 giving totaled $23.8 billion.

The energy industry had the largest decrease in median total giving compared with three years ago, the report said. Still, the energy industry led three program areas in terms of having the highest median cash giving — $4.1 million for K-12 education, 3.5 million for higher education, and $3.4 million for disaster relief.

The report said the energy industry’s support for education is likely tied to STEM programs to train professionals and recruit. It added that disaster-relief support is likely due to business ties to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

Other findings:

• Median total giving in 2017 among all 252 respondents was $19.2 million (0.87 percent of pre-tax profit).
• For companies with three years of comparable data, the share of companies that increased their measurement of societal outcomes or the impact of at least one grant rose from 81 percent in 2015 to 84 percent in 2017.
• Median cash contributions to disaster relief had the highest growth from 2015, when it was $212,000, to 2017, when it was $862,000. Aggregate giving to disaster relief rose 208 percent.
• The proportion of companies that had open matching-gift programs — which don’t restrict which nonprofit can receive the money — increased in the last three years from 51 percent to 55 percent. The median amount of money companies with open plans matched was $2.36 million, compared with $1.39 million at companies with limited plans.
• Civic and public-affairs cash giving decreased 35 percent. The program area includes contributions to justice and law, state or local government agencies, regional clubs and fraternal orders, and public-policy research organizations.